On October 30, Buncombe County Commission voted 6-1 to create an Early Childhood Education and Development Fund and commit $3.6 annually to this fund to support creating new classrooms and centers, supporting workforce development, supporting our local system in scaling up, and providing support services to kids and families.

This is about making a permanent commitment to kids in Buncombe County and about creating a community where every kiddo has an equal opportunity to thrive.

Thank you to everyone who showed up to advocate, sent messages and called to show support, including the amazing Kids Justice League from BeLoved Community, pictured above.

And thank you to fellow Commissioners, county staff and community partners for the collaboration, hard work and passion that went into developing and passing this resolution. It's a true honor to work on these issues and it will continue to be a focus of my work on County Commission.

At our October 30th Board of Commission meeting, we'll be voting on a resolution to create an Early Childhood Education and Development Fund and to allocate $3.6 million annually to this fund. The full resolution is available here.

In the past 18 months, Buncombe County Commission has significantly increased support for early childhood education and development programs in our community. We've passed a strategic priority to help ensure that every child in our community has an equal opportunity to thrive in their first 2,000 days, supported new Pre-K classrooms, and funded new approaches to workforce development issues.​It's been an honor to work with every member of Commission, county staff, and community partners, like the Asheville Buncombe Preschool Planning Collaborative, on these efforts. The presentation below, shared at our October 2nd Commission meeting, tells the story of the work we've done together and the needs that persist in our community.

We know there's a tremendous need for more quality early childhood education in our community. Only about 1/3 of kids ages 0-4 are currently enrolled in licensed childcare programs. Currently, 46% of children in Buncombe County live in poor and low-income homes and 21% experience food insecurity.

Behind every statistic is a local child and family who could benefit from access to quality early childhood education. Decades of research confirm that these programs provide short- and long-term benefits in children's lives, from education outcomes, to job and earning prospects, to lifelong health. These programs also benefit the peers, families and communities of kids who are served. Recent research shows a 13% return on investment for every dollar invested in high-quality early childhood education.

Creating an Early Childhood Education and Development Fund is about creating a community where every child can thrive. Funding would prioritize creating new preschool and Pre-K classrooms, supporting the workforce development pipeline for teachers and staff, supporting strategies that allow the current system to scale up, and providing support services for children and families served by these programs.

​We'll be talking about all this and more at our October 30th meeting and there will be time for public comment before we vote on the resolution - hope to see you there!

Yesterday, a new indictment was filed relating to allegations of fraud, bribes, and kickbacks against former county manager Wanda Greene and now two additional former Buncombe County officials, Mandy Stone and Jon Creighton. What has been alleged in a series of federal indictments shocks the conscience and amounts to a gross abuse of power and public trust. These individuals deserve due process, and we must treat these as allegations, not proven fact. But we must also address the substance of allegations against them and understand the broader narrative they reveal: what happened was not the work of a single corrupt official; it was a culture of corruption and we do not yet know how far it extended. The federal investigation continues and as the latest indictment makes clear, it is possible that there will be more indictments against other individuals.

Today, I’m writing this statement as an individual County Commissioner because I feel an obligation and a responsibility to communicate directly with our community and the district I represent. You are owed answers and accountability. In sharing my analysis, I do not propose to have all the answers. I believe that collectively, we as a community working together will find solutions that no one of us will find on our own through this crisis.

Your County Commission has a responsibility to serve you through this crisis. Buncombe County Commission brings together seven individuals who love our community, have different perspectives on some issues, and have found alignment on other issues like expanding access to Pre-K and responding to the opioid crisis. I have respect and appreciation for fellow Commissioners and believe that the differences in approach and leadership style that distinguish us individually combine to create a stronger governing body.

Some steps have been taken the course of the year, but there is more that we can do at the level of County Commission to protect Buncombe County’s integrity. As we face this ongoing crisis, we must respond with action measures and it is past time for comprehensive reforms. This is a crisis and we must continue working to repair public trust and to put proactive reforms into place to ensure that every tax dollar is spent appropriately and that the county focuses on its singular mission to serve our community.

These are specific actions I advocate for and status reports on areas where steps have been taken in the past year:

Board of Commissioners to hire an external auditor to conduct an internal forensic investigation related to financial practices, internal controls, and organizational culture. This investigation should also focus on two obvious risks: (1) that active county employees are under, or will become the focus of, the federal investigation and/or active county employees were complicit in misconduct; and (2) that policy or budgetary decisions may come before us involving entities under investigation (e.g. construction contracts).

Board of Commissioners to conduct annual performance reviews of appointed staff, including the County Manager, Chief Financial Officer and County Clerk. Historically, there has not been a practice of Commission providing annual performance reviews of appointed staff. In January of this year, the Commission committed to putting this practice in place; however the amount of staff turnover in appointed positions since that time has meant the practice has not yet been fully implemented.

Board of Commissioners to retain an attorney with expertise in federal investigations for the duration of the investigation and until reforms are fully implemented. The goal is to ensure that we fully cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office during the investigation, we are engaged in ongoing risk assessment, we identify opportunities for legal action to recover funds, and that we have legal guidance in implementing reforms. This spring, the Commission hired Attorney Scott Jones to play this role. Relatedly, last fall, the County retained Attorney Ron Payne to work on recovering life insurance funds. This has resulted in the county recovering more than $2 million in a settlement, and a pending civil lawsuit against Wanda Greene and Michael Greene to recover additional funds. As per a statement issued by County Commission last night, Attorneys Jones and Payne are currently assessing yesterday’s indictments as they relate to the pending civil lawsuit, the current status of county contracts with Joseph Wiseman, Jr., and any legal recourse available to the county to recover funds.

Board of Commissioners to commit to communicating as actively with the publicas we can during this period without interfering with the pending criminal investigation. In a crisis, people need accurate, clear information from public officials. This means issuing press releases to communicate with the broader community. It also means your representatives being accessible to constituents in-person and in digital spaces. People have questions, are angry, and also have really good ideas about other reforms we can be implementing. With fellow Commissioner Al Whitesides, I’ve hosted a series of coffee hours around District 1 to be available to our community. This week, I’m also starting “office hours” where I’ll be available for drop-in conversations. I will also be available on Facebook to answer questions.

Implement best practices as basic protocol to hire our next County Manager and senior management positions. Last night, the Commission voted to move forward with interviewing firms to conduct a national search for our new County Manager. This is a positive step forward. We should be using best practices proactively as basic protocol with every senior management hire. Last year, I advocated for a national search to replace outgoing county manager Wanda Greene, as did Chairman Brownie Newman. At the time, there was no federal investigation - I supported a search because it is a best practice and because our community deserves the best leadership in the country.

I believe we must move through this crisis with accountability and humility. I am accountable to every decision I’ve made as a Commissioner. The investigation is not over, and until we have a full knowledge of the facts, we must understand that there are things we do not know.

This conversation needs to happen at the community level. From 9 - 10:30 AM tomorrow, I’ll be at Penny Cup Coffee downtown at 39 S. Market Street. If you can make it, I’d love to see you there to hear your ideas, listen, and answer any questions I can.

Together, I believe we can find solutions to this crisis and work together to create a system of local government that reflects the integrity and character of the people of Buncombe County. I am committed to moving forward through this crisis with the same values that led me to serve as Commissioner. I am here to work for you.

Joint Statement from Buncombe County Commissioners Al Whitesides, Ellen Frost and Jasmine Beach-Ferrara on the Crisis of Racial Bias and Excessive Use of Force

As Buncombe County Commissioners, we are gravely concerned about the excessive use of force on Mr. Johnnie Rush by an Asheville Police Department officer and the ensuing delay in the administration of justice. In August 2017, Mr. Rush, an African-American downtown resident, was assaulted by a law enforcement officer after being stopped and detained for allegedly jaywalking on his walk home from a 13-hour work shift. Mr. Rush is one of our constituents, and an assault on his dignity is an affront to all of ours.

This is a crisis in our community on par with the opioid epidemic. It must therefore receive the same level of open dialogue, honest assessment, collaboration across agencies, and robust funding by the public bodies who are duty-bound to serve and protect our constituents.

Incidents like this should never happen again. But they can, and will, unless we take proactive and ongoing steps to prevent them. Asheville City Council has initiated steps to redress the systemic factors that resulted in the stop, arrest, and excessive use of force on Mr. Rush and the subsequent delay in the administration of justice. We support those efforts and seek to build on them to protect all citizens in every corner of Buncombe County.

We propose the following immediate actions to address this crisis. We look forward to discussing these ideas with community members, advocates, fellow members of Buncombe County Commission and county staff, Asheville City Council, the Buncombe County Sheriff, the Buncombe County District Attorney, and the Buncombe County Public Defender.

1) We advocate for all law enforcement agencies in the county, including the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office and all local police departments, to review current use of force and de-escalation policies and to revise them, with community input, to reflect best practices and principles as outlined in “The Final Report to the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing;”

2) Buncombe County will fund use of force, de-escalation and implicit bias trainings for any law enforcement agency within the county;

3) We will join Asheville City Council in funding and seeking the extension of the 60-day body cam footage retention period to ensure that this footage is available for review when citizens have been afforded the opportunity and right to counsel;

4) Buncombe County will fund a pilot of a multidisciplinary “Use of Force Response Team” within county government that is empowered to receive referrals and reports from the county’s Human Rights Commission (see below), community members, local law enforcement agencies and the District Attorney’s Office. This team will include an attorney, a social worker/victim advocate, and an individual with a law enforcement background. The team would be tasked with: 1) conducting an independent review of body cam footage; 2) assessing needs of victims and making appropriate referrals to victim services; 3) providing legal assistance with filing reports of use of force; and 4) notifying local governments of the occurrence of use of force incidents. Given the City of Asheville’s pledge to fund an attorney position with some parallel functions, we encourage ongoing communication and the exploration of coordination with this new position;

5) Buncombe County will create a Human Rights Commission that is empowered to investigate reports of harassing, violent or discriminatory conduct by public employees toward residents; to receive reports of discrimination related to public accommodations, public services, and private businesses; and to make policy and budgetary recommendations to County Commission regarding human rights issues in Buncombe County to ensure that all people are treated with dignity and respect;

6) Buncombe County will fund proposals to create trauma-informed responses to use of force incidents by law enforcement agencies and community stakeholders to recognize how these incidents injure not just individuals but the communities they are part of;

7) Buncombe County will continue to fund the Justice Resource Center; and

8) We call on the District Attorney’s Office, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies across Buncombe County, to develop protocols for requesting investigative assistance from the State Bureau of Investigations (“SBI”) in all use of force incidents and for responding to such reports, consistent with the recommendations contained in the NC Conference of District Attorneys Best Practices Committee’s report.

We believe that our community can - and must - do better to end racial bias and excessive use of force in policing. Doing so requires all hands on deck and a commitment to change at the individual, community and systemic levels.

As you've probably heard both the NCAA and the ACC have now pulled championships from North Carolina because of HB2. This discriminatory law is bad for our people, our morale, and our economy. It's political malpractice for Gov. McCrory to dig in his heels to defend this indefensible law.

As a LGBT North Carolinian, I know first hand how discriminatory policies hurt people and how policies based on the values of dignity and equity for all can uplift us as individuals and as a community. That's a perspective that I'll bring to my role on Buncombe County Commission and it also motivated me to write this new opinion piece about HB2. If you have a minute, check it out here.